Hallie Todd Movies

Teen queen Lizzie McGuire grows up a bit and hits the big screen in this comedy drama, based on the popular Disney Network series. Lizzie McGuire (Hilary Duff) and her best friends Kate (Ashlie Brillault), Gordo (Adam Lamberg), and Ethan (Clayton Snyder) have just graduated from middle school, and to celebrate, they're taking part in a class trip to Rome, Italy. Eager to celebrate their new maturity as high school students, Lizzie and her pals hope to live it up in one of Europe's most fabled cities, but fate has something more spectacular in store for Lizzie. Lizzie discovers that she bears a striking resemblance to Isabella, an Italian teen-pop idol famous for her duets with heart-throb Paolo (Yani Gellman) -- so much so that when Paolo and Isabella have a falling out, he asks Lizzie to take Isabella's place for an upcoming concert. Lizzie, however, isn't sure she feels comfortable stepping into the spotlight, and is even less sure about the way she feels about Paolo, who makes no secret of his infatuation with her. Things don't get any simpler for Lizzie when her family gets wind of her newfound fame, and catch the next flight to Italy. The Lizzie McGuire Movie also features Robert Carradine and Hallie Todd as Lizzie's parents, and Jake Thomas as her younger brother Matt, all of whom reprise their roles from the television series. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Hilary Duff became an overnight star and teen idol in one fell swoop when the freewheeling sitcom Lizzie McGuire made its Disney Channel debut in January of 2001. Not dissimilar to the old Nickelodeon series Clarissa Explains It All, Lizzie McGuire dealt in a slyly satirical (and slightly surrealistic) fashion with the trials and tribulations of 13- and 14-year-old junior-high kids. Lizzie attended Hillridge Middle School with her best friends, the sardonic Miranda Sanchez (Lalaine) and the doggedly nonconformist David "Gordo" Gordon (Adam Lamberg). At home, Lizzie had a fairly good relationship with her loving and tolerant parents, Sam and Jo (Robert Carradine, Hallie Todd), even though they persisted in regarding her as their little "sweet potato" instead of a girl on the verge of womanhood. Less copacetic was the relationship between Lizzie and her bratty kid brother, Matt (Jake Thomas), who never tired of hatching schemes to annoy his sister, confound his parents, fatten his allowance, or increase his creature comforts. Other regular and semi-regular characters included Lizzie's snooty classroom rival, Kate Sanders (Ashlie Brillault), who had once been our heroine's closest pal until such matters as boyfriends, peer pressure, and the school cheerleading squad separated them; Lizzie's heartthrob Ethan Craft (Clayton Snyder), whose dazzling handsomeness was offset by his less-than-dazzling intellect; requisite school nerd Larry Tudgeman (Kyle J. Downes), who for a variety of reasons (mostly academic) drove Gordo crazy; and Matt's buddy and partner-in-crime, Lanny (Christian Copelin). Among the most memorable aspects of Lizzie McGuire were the series' fleeting but hilarious pop-cultural references (usually appearing in Lizzie's vivid imagination), its adroit usage of contemporary music to complement the action or mood of the moment, and especially the cartoon sequences, wherein Lizzie would confide in or solicit advice from her animated alter ego, "Toon Lizzie" (this was, after all, a Disney production). Clearly anticipating a major hit, Disney Channel commissioned 31 episodes for Lizzie McGuire's first season instead of the usual 22 or 24. This surplus of material came in handy when Disney's sister over-the-air network ABC began rerunning Lizzie McGuire as part of its Saturday-morning lineup. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is one of several seventh-season Murder She Wrote episodes introduced by Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) but starring Dennis Stanton (Keith Michell), a jewel thief turned insurance investigator. On this occasion, Stanton himself is the primary suspect in a murder case. The victim is the estranged husband of Stanton's old flame Christina (Susan Blakely), whom our hero had been romancing just before the murder. Will Lt. Catalano (Ken Swofford) finally be able to put Stanton behind bars again, or will the wily ex-crook manage to wriggle his way out of danger once more? ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is one of several seventh-season Murder She Wrote episodes introduced by Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) but starring Dennis Stanton (Keith Michell), a jewel thief turned insurance investigator. Stanton's latest assignment is to investigate the suspicious events surrounding a fire that destroyed the hands of famous concert pianist Vaclav Maryska (Ricardo Montalban). The intrigue reaches a crescendo when Maryska's wife Milena (Patricia Neal) is murdered, with a veritable orchestra of suspects at Stanton's disposal. As usual, Stanton is more or less assisted by ditzy Rhoda Markowitz (Hallie Todd) and by flustered Lt. Catalano (Ken Swofford). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Jonathan Frakes, Next Generation's Cmdr. Riker, made his series directorial debut with this March 17, 1990 episode. Yearning for the joys of parenthood, Data builds an android "child," which assumes human form as a girl named Lal (Hallie Todd). This unauthorized experiment takes a poignant turn when the Federation insists that it must take charge of Lal so that she will receive a "proper" childhood. While Data argues his case to Captain Picard, an unforseen tragedy occurs. "Offspring" was written by Rene Echevarria. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The emphasis in this episode is not on Jessica (Angela Lansbury) but on her old friend, indefatigable LA homicide detective Jake Ballinger (Barry Newman). Refusing to give up his own personal investigation of a "closed" murder case, Jake is forcibly relocated to a small college town, there to teach a course in criminology. Of course, Ballinger intends to continue pursuing his investigation, this time with help of his students--all two of them (he'd scared the rest of the class away on the first day of the semester!) ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

In an unusual comedy by Joan Darling, Brian Dennehy and Anne Archer star as the Richard, a druggist, and his wife Peggy, a pair of debt-ridden parents who rebel against the system. Nothing goes right while they try to uphold the system, then things get even worse when they leave it. Richard decides to pull the plug on modernity when he cannot meet his utility bills and creditors are at his door like wolves. He shuts off the electricity and sets up candles, buys a goat, and digs a well in the back yard. He finally does hit water, but it happens to be the city's water main. Peggy is not quite as crazed as her husband so she goes to see a shrink -- who promptly dies on her. If anything can go wrong for Richard and Peggy, it will. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This largely autobiographical story written and directed by Michael Landon stars Timothy Patrick Murphy as Gene Orowitz (Landon's real name was Eugene Orowitz), a frail teenager with a talent for throwing the javelin and a close relationship to his father Sam (Eli Wallach), the manager of a movie theater. Sam's real love in life is writing fiction, and he pounds the keys of his typewriter well into the night as he tries to finish a major opus. One day when Gene sees Samson and Delilah (1949) at the theater where his father works, he becomes certain that whatever strength he has is due to his long hair and he refuses to cut his hair, even though long hair turns the school principal apoplectic and has to be disguised when Gene is at a sports meet. Gene's life is not a bed of roses, yet when he is dumped by his girlfriend Bonnie for Robert (Alan Hayes), an arrogant football player who has bullied him whenever the chance arose, his good friend Cathy (Hallie Todd) stays by his side. Later, he has his own revenge with Robert by connecting with a right to the jaw, shocking everyone, perhaps even himself. Gene has been working out to get ready for a big school meet and is a bit stronger in his javelin-tossing arm. As the day of the big meet approaches, life changes dramatically for him -- and the movie's climax, though it appears contrived, actually happened to Landon in real life. Landon also plays a small role in the film as a movie star visiting his hometown -- and in some ways, he was "Sam's son" because he himself took to writing -- including the script for this movie, in fact. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide